Origin

The Witten Institute for Family Business was founded in 1998 with financial support from Deutsche Bank and was originally named ”Deutsche Bank Institute for Family Businesses” (DIFU). It was the first research institute in Germany for family businesses.

The Institute and Deutsche Bank collaborated for seven years, until in the summer of 2005 the sponsorship was passed over to a small circle of family ventures. With this change came a new name for the Institute: Witten Institute for Family Business (WIFU). The connection with our sponsor group enables and ensures close collaboration with the entrepreneurs of these supporting businesses.